I had the great fortune of sailing on the USS Princeton into Vladivostok, Soviet Union in the early '90s. This was the first U.S. goodwill visit to this "forbidden city" on the Russian Pacific in over five decades.
As Navy public affairs officers and soon-to-be the first Americans most of these people had ever seen, we were thoroughly briefed on many things. We were instructed to be aware that a senior Greenpeace official was reported to be in Vladivostok at the time of our globally publicized visit. Apparently, he was protesting the U.S. visit while also attempting to call attention to the extraordinary environmental damage done to Vlad by the Soviet Fleet. Of course, how he was allowed to enter Vlad in the first place was the subject of much speculation.
After the pomp and circumstance of the arrival ceremonies, we ventured to a restaurant in town run by North Koreans. In fact, we were escorted there by an overzealous Russian guy who was so obviously KGB that he couldn't possibly hide it. We were treated like celebrities and could not buy a drink. That's when a man came over to our table and said, "Well, I don't see too many fellow Americans around here, huh?" It was the Greenpeace official. He bought us a drink, too.
As Navy public affairs officers and soon-to-be the first Americans most of these people had ever seen, we were thoroughly briefed on many things. We were instructed to be aware that a senior Greenpeace official was reported to be in Vladivostok at the time of our globally publicized visit. Apparently, he was protesting the U.S. visit while also attempting to call attention to the extraordinary environmental damage done to Vlad by the Soviet Fleet. Of course, how he was allowed to enter Vlad in the first place was the subject of much speculation.
After the pomp and circumstance of the arrival ceremonies, we ventured to a restaurant in town run by North Koreans. In fact, we were escorted there by an overzealous Russian guy who was so obviously KGB that he couldn't possibly hide it. We were treated like celebrities and could not buy a drink. That's when a man came over to our table and said, "Well, I don't see too many fellow Americans around here, huh?" It was the Greenpeace official. He bought us a drink, too.